The Song
by Gabriella R
Summary: Charlie plays a song for Claire, at her request, and realizes his feelings for her.


A/N- Pre-Raised by Another. My first "Lost" fic. My first fic ever, actually! So go easy on me. Reviews are definitely appreciated.

Disclaimer- I don't own anyone from 'Lost' and I am not making a profit by writing this. I also do not own Damien Rice or the song "The Blower's Daughter" used in the story.

Summary- Charlie plays a song for Claire and realizes his love for her.

Charlie sat in the rather chilly cave watching the sleeping Claire. He could stare at her forever. She was that beautiful. Not that there was particularly anything else on the island he would be doing anyway.

She was so peaceful. And relaxed. She laid on her side, one arm under her head, the other resting on her stomach. He smiled and she then suddenly awoke with a start.

Charlie jumped slightly from his seat. Then he laughed. "You all right, there?"

Once realizing where she was she smiled. "Yeah," she said with a small laugh.

"So.. how are you?" Charlie asked sincerely. Claire smiled. He was probably the one person who actually cared for her on this island. Or so it seemed. Sure, Jack helped her through her pregnancy stages, and Kate would share some nice words, but none of them compared to how Charlie acted around her.

"I'm good," she finally answered. She moved her free hand to rest on her stomach as she sat up.

"And... the little one?" he asked nodding his head towards her stomach.

"He's fine as well, I suppose," she said grinning.

"Good," he said. "I think I still have some peanut butter left..." Charlie grinned suggestively.

Claire's eyes widened and Charlie had to laugh. "Where?"

"Near my things. Follow me..." he said until realizing what he just asked her to do. "No! Wait! Sorry, I'll go get it!" he said rushing to his feet.

"No, no," Claire said laughing as he came over to help her up. "I need to stretch my legs. They're awful cramped."

Charlie grinned at her. "Whatever you say."

Claire followed Charlie to a log, where his backpack lay. He rummaged inside until he pulled out a jar of peanut butter with a little bit left on the bottom and the sides.

"Here ya go, Miss Claire," he said handing her the jar.

"Thank you so much, Charlie," she said laughing and dipping her finger in.

Her eyes wandered to Charlie's guitar that sat next to his bag.

"Play something, Charlie."

He gave her a confused look. "What?"

"Your guitar. Play something." She giggled as she pointed over to his guitar.

"Oh... right, right. I dunno, Claire. I mean, I haven't played much since we got stranded. I'm probably a little rusty..."

"Oh c'mon! Just play it!" she exclaimed. "For me?" she added with puppy dog eyes that Charlie couldn't resist.

"Allright, ok, but that's the last time you can bat those gorgeous little eyes," he said with a smirk. Claire laughed and huddled close to listen.

"What should I play?" he asked her. "I do take requests, miss," he said in a fake, blues-y voice. Claire giggled.

"Whatever comes naturally. I want to hear your best." Charlie grinned. What was his best? He first thought he should play something from Driveshaft. 'No..' he thought to himself. This song had to be special. The Driveshaft song were good, but not ones you would sing to serenade a young woman.

"I got one," he said and strummed a few chords.

"You don't have to listen right now, I'm just trying to get it right," he explained to Claire as he continued to search for the correct note to begin the song. He had heard the song a few times back home, and had never actually tried playing it. He was sure he could, however, from memory. He could usually figure out the song even if he had never played it before.

Charlie looked over at Claire, who was still focused on getting all the peanut butter left in the jar. He smiled.

"I think I'm ready."

"I'm all ears," Claire giggled and put on a serious look. She set the jar of peanut butter down.

Charlie began to strum, concentrated on getting the first verse down. Then his soft voice began to sing.

"_And so it is...... just like you said it would be_

_Life goes easy on me_

_Most of the time_

_And so it is_

_The shorter story_

_No love, no glory_

_No hero in her sky_

_I can't take my eyes off you_

_I can't take my eyes off you_

_I can't take my eyes off you_

_I can't take my eyes off you_

He looked up at her as he continued to strum into the second verse. Her eyes were concentrated on his. A smile played on his lips as he continued to sing.

_And so it is_

_Just like you said it should be_

_We'll both forget the breeze_

_Most of the time_

_And so it is_

_The colder water_

_The blower's daughter_

_The pupil in denial_

_I can't take my eyes off you_

_I can't take my eyes off you_

_I can't take my eyes off you_

_I can't take my eyes......_

He looked up now. He stared deep into her eyes and almost stopped playing. It looked like she was crying. He decided to finish one last part.

_I can't take my mind off you_

_I can't take my mind off you_

_I can't take my mind....._

He strummed for a few more seconds and slowly stopped. He set the guitar gently on the ground.

"Charlie...." Claire started a little shaky. "That was really beautiful." He could tell she was trying to hold back tears.

"Really? I'm glad. That's the first time I've played that song."

"It was very good." Claire said quietly. She then looked up and smiled the most genuine smile Charlie had ever seen in his life.

"Claire... I love you." Charlie smiled and reached for her hand.

Claire's smile immediately vanished, like it had been swiped right off her face. She drew in a slow breath.

"Charlie... that's, awful sweet." She looked up and gave a quick smile. But she found she couldn't look at him long without bursting into tears.

"But you don't love me..." Charlie finished for her softly.

"It's not that, Charlie. It's that you don't love me." she said quietly, as a silent tear ran down her cheek.

"What? I do, Claire. Why don't you think I love you?" he said a little angrily. He tried to stay calm. But she didn't love him back? She might, if she didn't think he didn't really love her.

"I just know you don't, Charlie. Ok? You don't love me. You just think you do." With that she stood up, with no help from Charlie and began to walk away. She turned around with tears filling her eyes.

"Thank you for the song." Then she continued on back to the cave.

Charlie simply sat there, dumbfounded. What did he do wrong? He thought he had said all the right things. He thought he had done all the right things. What went wrong?

Whatever happened, he wasn't going to give up. He was going to find out why Claire was so afraid, so frozen, by that one word: love.

There you go. That's my first story ever! I hope everyone likes it. Please review! By the way, the song used in the story is by Damien Rice called "The Blower's Daughter." It really is a beautiful song (as you can tell by the lyrics) the music is even more beautiful. Thanks for reading!


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